Photographs and review by Sirenia; edited by bmathison1972 One of the great tales of evolution is the whales. That tiny, tree living creatures would become gigantic, secondarily aquatic mammals is fascinating, and fills the oceans with many fine forms of cetaceans. Though whaling and ocean pollution threatens them, there are still efforts to teach the …
Beauty of the Beasts is an online Etsy shop featuring resin animal figurines made by artist Qinguy Li out of Halifax, Canada. The site is probably best known for its Complete Feline Series which features nearly every, if not every, species of wild feline in 1:10 scale. They also have 1:10 tapirs, a brown bear, …
Review and images by Lanthanotus; edited by bmathison1972. Not a lot time has passed since my last review of a Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus), so there is not much more to tell about the animal itself, so let us get straight away to the figure itself. Kaiyodo`s Sofubi Toy Box figures are produced in …
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972 The spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) is one of the most distinctive and beautiful rays. It also adapts well to captivity, making it a frequent resident of public aquariums and zoos. I acquired this plush version at the Toronto Zoo back when they had a temporary exhibit …
Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Those are the names of the Great Lakes of North America that boarder the central/east United States and Canada. In total area they represent the largest freshwater lakes on Earth, holding roughly 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and 9/10ths of the water supply for the United States. The …
Review and images by jumboplayset; edited by bmathison1972 For me, my all time favorite animal is without question the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). I remember when I first saw the species in the wild, in a tiny creek down the way from my grandparents’ house. The creek ran between two streets but was unbelievably …
Review and photographs by Loon; edited by bmathison1972 Dromaius novaehollandiae, more commonly known as the emu, is the second-largest bird on earth, with the tallest being over 6½ feet or 2 meters tall. Being such an important part of Australian culture, it made sense that Southlands Replicas, a company that mostly specializes in replicas of …
Review and photographs by sirenia (a.k.a. indohyus on the Dinosaur Toy Blog); edited by bmathison1972 I have a keen love of crocodilians. They are fascinating, from their looks to their anatomy, and look very prehistoric. While many seem fairly similar, their are some interesting variants with this, such as this one: the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), …
Although there are roughly 440 species of shark it’s the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that has most captured the human imagination and it makes sense, it’s one of a very small handful of sharks that preys upon large mammalian prey, our own species included, albeit rarely. The white shark brings to mind the famous …
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972 Who hasn’t heard of the legendary giant squid (Architeuthis dux)? From Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Peter Benchley’s Beast (fun read, that one!) and to countless artistic depictions of epic underwater clashes with sperm whales, it certainly has quite the reputation as a genuine …